[Ads-l] Adage Origin: Quacks Are the Greatest Liars in the World, Except Their Patients

[Amy West]

I think it's Doctor Thibou of Antigua saying it. It *is* ambiguous as 
we've got 3 Dr.s involved: Rush & Thibou, waiting upon Franklin. Yep, 
the "hence it was justly said" definitely signals quotation/attribution, 
but it all starts off with "The Dr. said few but quacks . . ." and then 
there's the pronoun "He" referring back to whoever "The Dr." is. There 
are 3 possible candidates, but Franklin seems to be in the role of the 
patient in this context, so my money is on Dr. Thibou of Antigua. But, 
yes, it could be Franklin. Who knows? Ya pays your money, ya takes your 
chances.

Very cool work, as usual. I had no idea that "quack" was such an old term.

---Amy West

On 9/10/26 00:00, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
> Date:    Wed, 9 Sep 2026 21:37:30 -0400
> From:    ADSGarson O'Toole<adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Adage Origin: Quacks Are the Greatest Liars in the World, Except Their Patients
>
> Charlatans who provide fraudulent medical advice and dubious nostrums
> have afflicted humankind for centuries. Misguided patients often boost
> these deceivers the most. Here are two versions of a pertinent saying:
>
> (1) There are no greater liars than quacks, except for their patients.
> (2) Quacks are the greatest liars in the world, except their patients.
>
> This saying has been attributed to U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin,
> U.S. physician Benjamin Rush, and Scottish physician David Pitcairn. I
> received a request to investigate.
>
> The earliest match I found occurred in a diary written by Benjamin
> Rush. The entry dated September 22, 1788, described a conversation
> about quacks between Benjamin Franklin and Rush. The word "liars" was
> spelled "lyers" in the following excerpt:
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Waited upon Dr. Franklin with Doctor Thibou, of Antigua. The Dr. said
> few but quacks ever made money by physic, & that no bill drawn upon
> the credulity of the people of London by quacks, was ever protested.
> He ascribed the success of quacks partly to patients extolling the
> efficacy of the remedies they took from them, rather than confess
> their ignorance & credulity, hence it was justly said, "quacks were
> the greatest lyers in the world, except their patients."
> [End excerpt]
>
> Rush's 1788 diary entry appeared in "The Pennsylvania Magazine of
> History and Biography" in 1905 within an article titled "Excerpts from
> the Papers of Dr. Benjamin Rush". I believe this diary entry is
> credible; however, I have not yet seen scans of the diary entry.
>
> The passage is ambiguous, but it seems that the saying was spoken by
> Benjamin Franklin to Rush. The prefatory phrase "it was justly said"
> signaled that the attribution was anonymous.
>
> Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/09/09/quacks-liars/
>
> Feedback welcome
> Garson O'Toole

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